Benny Gantz drops out of Israel’s election race

Benny Gantz withdraws from Israel's election race in bid to unseat Netanyahu Benny Gantz, a former Israeli army chief and defence minister, has withdrawn from Israel’s election race after polls showed his party falling short of the threshold for entering parliament. The leader of the Blue and White (Kahol Lavan) party announced on Monday he will not run in the October 27 polls, saying he will “continue to work for unity”. The 67-year-old is expected to hold a news conference later on Monday. Opinion polls in the lead-up to next week’s vote had consistently shown Gantz’s party hovering below the 3.25 percent threshold needed to enter the 120-seat Knesset, or Israel’s parliament.